If you’re interested in reading another one of Colston Whitehead’s books, I would recommend “The Nickel Boys.” It came out around the BLM protests in the U.S.
Best of luck with obtaining French nationality ! Hopefully the French government doesn’t need too many things. I would a perfect dossier, but I think we both know the French government prefers to make everything not easy. Lol
Hey Hannah. Gosh, it's been a crazy week or two of politics. So much going on.
I feel for your giant dossier. Sounds like a nightmare. Hope it proceeds smoothly. I need to do my own for Australian citizenship (I have been eligible for quite a few years, but, err, I've just been lazy because it wasn't overly pressing) and I'm thankful it's a far shorter process.
The Underground Railroad has been on my list for a long time and I always see it there on the shelf whenever I'm in my local bookstore.
I loved your 3 day itinerary Hannah. Some of my favourites on there, including Trieze cafe but some new things too, so it’s book marked for my next trip 😊
Thrilled to have a new government in the U.K. and a huge sigh of relief that the French elections went the way they did!
A very interesting piece, as ever, Hannah. I can tell you we breathed a large sigh of relief to see the back of this chaotic, heinous Tory 'government'. Not unlike the feeling when Trump was sent packing. Our constituency boundary changed, here in the Tory heartlands of South Bucks, but not only did the Libdem retain her seat (having turned over a huge majority in a recent by - election), our old constituency was won by Labour!Whatever the Starmer government does, I don't see the continued destruction of the Welfare State that the Torys were hell - bent on.
The Underground Railroad was one of my favorite books of the past years. As for the nationality process, I did it in 2007 and had to produce my grandparents' birth certificates! Fortunately my parents were still alive and had them.
I have finished it now! I agree, it’s really good. Ahhh bravo to you for gathering your dossier and (I hope) getting French nationality! Today at least we can submit online — friends tell me the amount of paper was incroyable!
Hannah, you are a young person who gets it. In 1963 I was 10 years old and I followed the career of Muhammad Ali. I didn't understand the intricacies of race relations but I had a general idea because it was more or less black and white, which is even easy to understand for a 10-year-old. In the years that followed I saw the persecution of Muhammad Ali by most of the American people and by all of the American government and yet Muhammad Ali won. I stopped being a patriot when I saw that and I was still in high school. There is no nationalistic fervor in my heart for America. Nationalism is the Bane of human existence right up there with religion. Human beings are ungovernable. I am a citizen of the world not of any country. As far as qualifying for French citizenship I think all that should be required is a good knowledge of the movie Casablanca and the part when they sing the French national anthem; my mom was French and when they sang the Marseillaise she would always cry:
No. My mother spoke some; the one I recall she told us every night before bed, "bonsoir et bien oui." At least that's how it sounded to me whose only French was the cartoonish accent of Pepe Le Pew.
If you’re interested in reading another one of Colston Whitehead’s books, I would recommend “The Nickel Boys.” It came out around the BLM protests in the U.S.
Best of luck with obtaining French nationality ! Hopefully the French government doesn’t need too many things. I would a perfect dossier, but I think we both know the French government prefers to make everything not easy. Lol
Thank you!
I’d love to read another of his. I’ll note that. I’ve also had a recco for ‘Apex hides the hurt’
Hey Hannah. Gosh, it's been a crazy week or two of politics. So much going on.
I feel for your giant dossier. Sounds like a nightmare. Hope it proceeds smoothly. I need to do my own for Australian citizenship (I have been eligible for quite a few years, but, err, I've just been lazy because it wasn't overly pressing) and I'm thankful it's a far shorter process.
The Underground Railroad has been on my list for a long time and I always see it there on the shelf whenever I'm in my local bookstore.
Hi Nathan! Hope you’re well. Ahh I can imagine it’s a much more pleasant process over there!
I loved your 3 day itinerary Hannah. Some of my favourites on there, including Trieze cafe but some new things too, so it’s book marked for my next trip 😊
Thrilled to have a new government in the U.K. and a huge sigh of relief that the French elections went the way they did!
Thank you Alix! That’s so lovely.
A very interesting piece, as ever, Hannah. I can tell you we breathed a large sigh of relief to see the back of this chaotic, heinous Tory 'government'. Not unlike the feeling when Trump was sent packing. Our constituency boundary changed, here in the Tory heartlands of South Bucks, but not only did the Libdem retain her seat (having turned over a huge majority in a recent by - election), our old constituency was won by Labour!Whatever the Starmer government does, I don't see the continued destruction of the Welfare State that the Torys were hell - bent on.
The Underground Railroad was one of my favorite books of the past years. As for the nationality process, I did it in 2007 and had to produce my grandparents' birth certificates! Fortunately my parents were still alive and had them.
I have finished it now! I agree, it’s really good. Ahhh bravo to you for gathering your dossier and (I hope) getting French nationality! Today at least we can submit online — friends tell me the amount of paper was incroyable!
Hannah, you are a young person who gets it. In 1963 I was 10 years old and I followed the career of Muhammad Ali. I didn't understand the intricacies of race relations but I had a general idea because it was more or less black and white, which is even easy to understand for a 10-year-old. In the years that followed I saw the persecution of Muhammad Ali by most of the American people and by all of the American government and yet Muhammad Ali won. I stopped being a patriot when I saw that and I was still in high school. There is no nationalistic fervor in my heart for America. Nationalism is the Bane of human existence right up there with religion. Human beings are ungovernable. I am a citizen of the world not of any country. As far as qualifying for French citizenship I think all that should be required is a good knowledge of the movie Casablanca and the part when they sing the French national anthem; my mom was French and when they sang the Marseillaise she would always cry:
https://youtu.be/cOeFhSzoTuc?si=aOrT8_Ssp0FzFt-8
Thank you for your kind and thoughtful message! I can’t believe I’ve only just discovered your mother was French! Do you speak the language?
No. My mother spoke some; the one I recall she told us every night before bed, "bonsoir et bien oui." At least that's how it sounded to me whose only French was the cartoonish accent of Pepe Le Pew.